1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to battery management and in particular to determining battery capacity in an information handling system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continue to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes, thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Some information handling systems utilize batteries as a backup power source. A backup battery is used to provide backup power in the event of primary power loss so that the information handling system can continue to operate or to shut down without data loss. Depending on the application, the loss of data may not be acceptable and may require the battery to have sufficient remaining capacity to handle any required backup functions and tasks. Because the capacity of a battery depends on several variables such as charge/discharge cycles, charge/discharge rate, and end of charge/discharge voltage and temperature, performing periodic battery learning (or conditioning) cycles is required to determine whether the battery has adequate capacity to allow the backup functions to be completed. If the battery does not have adequate capacity to allow the backup functions to be completed, the user or system should take appropriate actions to mitigate the risk of data loss.
One method to determine the battery's capacity is to do a full discharge while taking the appropriate measurements. This method has the disadvantages of adding to the battery degradation as well as making the battery unavailable as the backup source for a longer duration until it is again sufficiently recharged. This method can require the information handling system to experience a period of downtime in order to prevent data loss.